In this work, the ablation behavior of monolith ZrB2-30 vol%SiC (Z30S) composites were studied under various oxy-acetylene flame angles. Typical oxidized microstructures (SiO2/SiC-depleted/ZrB2-SiC) were observed when the flame to Z30S was arranged vertically. However, formation of the outmost glassy SiO2 layer was hindered when the Z30S was tilted. The SiC-depleted region was fully exposed to air with reduced thickness when highly tilted. Traces of the ablated and island type SiO2 were observed at intermediate flame angles, which clearly verified the effect of flame angle on the ablation of the SiO2 layer. Furthermore, the observed maximum surface temperature of the Z30S gradually increased up to 2,200 °C proving that surface amorphous silica was continuously removed while monoclinic ZrO2 phase began to be exposed. A proposed ablation mechanism with respect to flame angles is discussed. This observation is expected to contribute to the design of complex-shaped UHTC applications for hypersonic vehicles and re-entry projectiles.

Oxide coatings are formed on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy through an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO) process using an electrolytic solution of NaAlO2, KOH, and KF. The effects of PEO condition with different duty cycles (10 %, 20 %, and 40 %) and frequencies(500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz) on the crystal phase, composition, microstructure, and micro-hardness properties of the oxide coatings are investigated. The oxide coatings on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy mainly consist of MgO and MgAl2O4 phases. The proportion of each crystalline phase depends on various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency. The surfaces of oxide coatings exhibit as craters of pancake-shaped oxide melting and solidification particles. The pore size and surface roughness of the oxide coating increase considerably with increase in the number of duty cycles, while the densification and thickness of oxide coatings increase progressively. Differences in the growth mechanism may be attributed to differences in oxide growth during PEO treatment that occur because the applied operating voltage is insufficient to reach breakdown voltage at higher frequencies. PEO treatment also results in the oxide coating having strong adhesion properties on the Mg alloy. The micro-hardness at the cross-section of oxide coatings is much higher not only compared to that on the surface but also compared to that of the conventional anodizing oxide coatings. The oxide coatings are found to improve the micro-hardness with the increase in the number of duty cycles, which suggests that various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency, are among the key factors controlling the structural and physical properties of the oxide coating.

Impedancemetric NOx (NO and NO2) gas sensors were designed with a stacked-layer structure and fabricated using LaCrxCo1-xO3 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1) as the receptor material and Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 plates as the solid-electrolyte transducer material. The LaCrxCo1-xO3 layers were prepared with a polymeric precursor method that used ethylene glycol as the solvent, acetyl acetone as the chelating agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone as the polymer additive. The effects of the Co concentration on the structural, morphological, and NOx sensing properties of the LaCrxCo1-xO3 powders were investigated with powder Xray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and its response to 20~250 ppm of NOx at 400 oC (for 1 kHz and 0.5 V), respectively. When the as-prepared precursors were calcined at 700 oC, only a single phase was detected, which corresponded to a perovskite-type structure. The XRD results showed that as the Co concentration of the LaCrxCo1-xO3 powders increased, the crystal structure was transformed from an orthorhombic phase to a rhombohedral phase. Moreover, the LaCrxCo1-xO3 powders with 0 ≤ x < 0.8 had a rhombohedral symmetry. The size of the particles in the LaCrxCo1-xO3 powders increased from 0.1 to 0.5 μm as the Co concentration increased. The sensing performance of the stack-structured LaCrxCo1-xO3/Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 sensors was found to divide the impedance component between the resistance and capacitance. The response of these sensors to NO gas was more sensitive than that to NO2 gas. Compared to other impedancemetric sensors, the LaCr0.8Co0.2O3/Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 sensor exhibited good reversibility and reliable sensingresponse properties for NOx gases.

Li1+xAlxTi2-x(PO4)3(LATP) is a promising solid electrolyte for all-solid-state Li ion batteries. In this study, LATP isprepared through a sol-gel method using relatively the inexpensive reagents TiCl4. The thermal behavior, structuralcharacteristics, fractured surface morphology, ion conductivity, and activation energy of the LATP sintered bodies areinvestigated by TG-DTA, X-ray diffraction, FE-SEM, and by an impedance method. A gelation powder was calcined at 500oC.A single crystalline phase of the LiTi2(PO4)3(LTP) system was obtained at a calcination temperature above 650oC. The obtainedpowder was pelletized and sintered at 900oC and 1000oC. The LTP sintered at 900~1000oC for 6 h had a relatively low apparentdensity of 75~80%. The LATP(x=0.3) pellet sintered at 900oC for 6 h was denser than those sintered under other conditionsand showed the highest ion conductivity of 4.50×10−5S/cm at room temperature. However, the ion conductivity of LATP(x=0.3) sintered at 1000oC decreased to 1.81×10−5S/cm, leading to Li volatilization and abnormal grain growth. For LATPsintered at 900oC for 6 h, x=0.3 shows the lowest activation energy of 0.42eV in the temperature range of room temperatureto 300oC.

Pure zirconia and x mol% calcia partially stabilized zirconia (x = 1.5, 3, and 8) nanopowders were synthesized by hydrothermal method with various reaction temperatures for 24 hrs. The precipitated precursor of pure zirconia and x mol% calcia doped zirconia was prepared by adding NH4OH to starting solutions; resulting sample was then put into an autoclave reactor. The optimal experimental conditions, such as reaction temperatures and times and amounts of stabilizer CaO, were carefully studied. The synthesized ZrO2 and x mol% CaO-ZrO2 (x = 1.5, 3, and 8) powders were characterized by XRD, SEM, TG-DTA, and Raman spectroscopy. When the hydrothermal temperature was as low as 160˚C, pure ZrO2 and x mol% CaO-ZrO2 (x = 1.5 and 3) powders were identified as a mixture of monoclinic and tetragonal phases. However, a stable tetragonal phase of zirconia was observed in the 8 mol% calcia doped zirconia nanopowder at hydrothermal temperature above 160˚C. To observe the phase transition, the 3 mol% CaO-ZrO2 and 8 mol% CaO-ZrO2 nanopowders were heat treated from 600 to 1000˚C for 2h. The 3 mol% CaO-ZrO2 heat treated at above 1000˚C was found to undergo a complete phase transition from mixture phase to monoclinic phase. However, the 8 mol% calcia doped zirconia appeared in the stable tetragonal phase after heat treatment. The result of this study therefore should be considered as the preparation of 8 mol% CaO-ZrO2 nanopowders via the hydrothermal method.

[ LaMeO3 ](Me = Cr, Co) powders were prepared using the polymeric precursor method. The effects of the chelating agent and the polymeric additive on the synthesis of the LaMeO3 perovskite were studied. The samples were synthesized using ethylene glycol (EG) as the solvent, acetyl acetone (AcAc) as the chelating agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the polymer additive. The thermal decomposition behavior of the precursor powder was characterized using a thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The crystallization and particle sizes of the LaMeO3 powders were investigated via powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and particle size analyzer, respectively. The as-prepared precursor primarily has LaMeO3 at the optimum condition, i.e. for a molar ratio of both metal-source (a : a) : EG (80a : 80a) : AcAc (8a) inclusive of 1 wt% PVP. When the as-prepared precursor was calcined at 700˚C, only a single phase was observed to correspond with the orthorhombic structure of LaCrO3 and the rhombohedral structure of LaCoO3. A solid-electrolyte impedance-metric sensor device composed of Li1.5Al0.5Ti1.5(PO4)3 as a transducer and LaMeO3 as a receptor has been systematically investigated for the detection of NOx in the range of 20 to 250 ppm at 400˚C. The sensor responses were able to divide the component between resistance and capacitance. The impedance-metric sensor for the NO showed higher sensitivity compared with NO2. The responses of the impedance-metric sensor device showed dependence on each value of the NOx concentration.

The static and dynamic hydrophobicities of the water droplets placed on a hydrophobic surface coated using a fluoroalkylsilanes monolayer with different molecular chain lengths were investigated through direct observation of the actual droplet motion during the sliding process. The surface roughness of both was found to be less than 1 nm. The static contact angles of the coated FAS-3 and FAS-17 were respectively 80˚ and 108˚ at 150˚C, 1 h. The slope of sliding acceleration against the water droplet mass exhibited an inflection point, thus suggesting the switching of the dominant sliding mode from slipping to rolling. While their sliding angles were similar in value, notable differences were exhibited in terms of their sliding behavior. This can be understood as being due to the contribution of the shear stress difference at the interface between the solid surface and water during the sliding process. These results show that the sliding acceleration of the water droplets depends strongly on the balance between gravitational and retentive forces on the hydrophobic surface.

This paper presents the mechanical response of concrete composites subject to extreme loadings including blast. In general, the dynamic strength of the concrete was greater than the static strength of the concerete so the dynamic increase factor (DIF) was defined as a ratio of the dynamic strength to the static strength and greater than one. Since the DIF was a function of strain rate, it was hard to apply the DIF to the analysis and/or design of concrete. Therefore, the new